“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
When this verse was penned to the church in Corinth, Paul was aiming at the heart of divisions inside a church. Before he’s done writing this first letter to them, he’s going to deal with five big issues that are tearing them apart. Nevertheless, the thrust of his arguments for resolving and restoring the divisions is the gospel. And…at the heart of the gospel is love.
Without love, a Christian cannot hope:
- to be patient
- to be kind
- to not be jealous
- to not brag
- to not be arrogant
- to not act unbecomingly
- to not seek its own
- to not be provoked
- to not take into account a wrong suffered
- to not rejoice in unrighteousness
- to rejoice with the truth
- to bear all things
- to believe all things
- to hope all things
- to endure all things
I wonder how many times we’ve tried to be patient, etc. without love?
On this Valentine’s Day, let’s all ask God to give us a heart to love…as He loved us!
How do we do that?
Think through the logic of this thought:
If God can love me in spite of my ____________, then I can love those around me in spite of their ____________.
Happy Valentine’s Day 2020!
— February 14, 2020